Do You Use A Fitness Tracker?

It wasn’t that long ago that using technology as part of your fitness routine meant an odometer and perhaps a spreadsheet. Though both of those are still useful, fitness trackers have come a long way. Do you use one?

I got a FitBit last christmas and have worn it every day since, bar 2-3 (no battery). Nearly 2000km later, and it's nice to have both stats and a little extra motivation, but I think I'll probably upgrade to something with a few more features/integrations soon.

This will obviously be from my point of reference, but there are a couple of different things you'll need to think about:

* I'm on a FitBit zip, which is the smaller, budget version. I therefore have lots of existing data tied in to a FitBit account, which may be a deciding factor for me. I also quite like the fact that it attaches out of sight to a belt or whatever. Basically it is only a glorified digital pedometer w/ syncing capabilities but good for an entry level device. Also one point to note: it uses the Bluetooth 4.0 standard, and so does not sync with my iPhone 4 (works with 4S and up). Check if your phone supports it to ensure sync directly with your phone. Battery life was about 2-3 months before having to buy a new 3V battery.

* I'm interested by the 'Up by Jawbone'. It looks like something I would be happy to wear everyday and has a sleep tracker (I use Sleep Cycle for iOS every night and like getting sleep analytics as well) and a built in vibrating alarm built (which just sounds plain cool). One minor catch is that you will need an iPhone or Android device to sync with, unlike FitBits which come with a USB dongle for automated PC/cloud sync. Seems to work with older phones than the FitBit zip though. For reference, I'm basing most of this from the following review (not written by me) which is pretty comprehensive:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413303,00.asp

* I think I'll probably end up moving on to a FitBit One. As pointed out, I already have a FitBit account with 7 months or so of step data, but this model can also tell when you are climbing stairs, track your sleep, and comes with a rechargeable battery. Plus it's really not that much more expensive than the budget zip.

I'm not in a hurry to upgrade, but given the choice I would suggest The FitBit One is probably what you're looking for for features and price.

It's not really a "fitness tracker" but I just bought the Polar H7. It attaches to a belt that wraps around your chest, so it isn't something that you would wear all the time. But, it communicates with the iPhone app and can track just about everything. Using the iPhones GPS, it will track your run/walk/ride on a map, and it lets you see what parts of your course push you harder. It can track your time in a specific HR zone, and even coaches you via voice prompts. All for around $100 (hardware and iOS app).

I've been using a Nike Fuelband since last August. It was purchased in London as they don't sell them here in Aus. I find that I do more exercise now I wear a fitness tracker. It gives me a goal to aim for every day or week. I like the challenge of bettering my previous activity.

Got into GCC this year at work and really getting into the step tracking. I'm keen to get either the Fitbit Flex or Jawbone Up, but not sure which one to get. Leaning more towards the Fitbit as I have a Windows Phone and there is no Jawbone app for it.

If you were interested in using the data from the Basis band any way apart from through their (limited) app, you may want to read the api-related thread post first.
In brief, their official current position can be summarised as "We're a start-up. You'll have to wait for data export or an API".

I just recently got a fitbit mostly to monitor sleep (I go through periods of poor sleep and found all phone apps quite poor), and the pedometer is just a bonus. I've also got a Garmin 510 on my bike every time I take it out.

I prefer to listen to my body when it comes to knowing if I need to do more or less, go faster or slower, I mostly use these gadgets to go over things later as I find the information they gather fascinating. They don't really add to my exercise, motivation or workouts, but they give me something to look forward to perusing over afterwards.

I was pondering a Garmin 910 (watch) as a single device to capture it all, but I stopped wearing watches a few years ago. Even if I did, the Garmin 910 is a bit ugly for normal daily wearing. It's mainly aimed at workouts too, not tracking regular incidental activity as the fitbit does.

iFitness is my go to App for working out in the gym and for tracking my cardio activities I use RunKeeper. Would potentially consider upgrading to something a little more tech savvy like the Jawbone later on down the track.